NETWORKING

Matthew Miller/ZDNET ZDNET’s key takeaways The Shokz OpenFit Air earbuds are available in black, white, and pink for $99 on Amazon. They’re a comfortable pair of open-ear buds with fantastic audio quality at a modest price. The six hour battery life is a bit lower than the previous OpenFit earbuds model. When I go running, I typically prefer using bone conduction headsets. They tend to stay in place better, while also keeping your ears clear…

ZDNET’s key takeaways The Treblab HD77 Bluetooth speaker is available on Amazon for $69. It has a big sound from a small package and is durable enough to take a beating. The sound is very mid-range and lacks much in the way of bass. more buying choices I can be a bit of an audio snob. I like what I like, and there’s no getting around it. I’ve spent enough time working on incredibly expensive…

ZDNET’s key takeaways The Samsung Neo QLED (QN90D) 98-inch TV lists for $15,000, but is marked down to $13,000 at most vendors. Its picture quality rivals OLED models in contrast and motion handling while exceeding most of them in peak brightness. The location of its connection ports can make setting up such a large TV a bit fussy. more buying choices It’s rare for me to be blown away by the picture quality of any…

ZDNET’s key takeaways The Shokz OpenSwim Pro headset is available for $159 in grey and red versions. The headset sounds fantastic underwater, the nine-hour battery life is outstanding, and you can use it in MP3 or Bluetooth mode. However, it doesn’t support audio playback services like Spotify, so you must manually load your music files onto the device more buying choices Music keeps me focused and helps motivate me when I exercise, but I also…

ZDNET’s key takeaways The LG G4 OLED is on sale at Amazon and Best Buy for $2,796. LG has made great strides with its OLED picture quality, and this model is truly exceptional However, the regular price might be a turn-off since you can buy great TVs for half the price. more buying choices I’m not usually a fan of LG TVs, but I’ve tested the LG G4 OLED TV this year, and I have…

Stockbyte/Getty Images Wireless internet connections are convenient, but they’re also notoriously unreliable. Nothing proves that point more emphatically than a glitchy video conference call, especially if it’s tied to a crucial business meeting. The solution, of course, is to run a wired network connection to your home office. Wi-Fi is great for mobility, but a wired connection offers many advantages when it comes to working from home. It’s faster and more reliable, with lower latency,…

ZDNET Update: We’ve pulled the original content, which recommended Wubuntu, from this article. Your trust in ZDNET’s recommendations is very important to us, and part of protecting that trust is letting you know when we’ve gotten something wrong and making it right.  During my test period of the Windows-like Wubuntu distribution (which was roughly a week), I had no problems with it. However, after that week passed, something strange happened in the form of a…

ZDNET Ah, 2024. You were a year, that’s for certain. You had 365 days, each a slat on the roller coaster rails that moved us forward while also taking us to higher highs and lower lows. One thing is for certain: 2024 saw a lot of incredible Linux distributions released. There was a new Ubuntu, Fedora, Linux Mint, Rhino Linux, EndeavorOS, Manjaro, Zorin OS, openSUSE, Nobara, Garuda, and many more, all of which shined in…

Casio Have you ever wished there was a smart ring that’s a little less “smart” and a lot more “watch”? You probably haven’t, but Casio is offering an answer for those who have. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of its iconic digital watch, the company is releasing a tiny, ring-sized version that fits around your finger. The $120 device might seem like a smart ring at first, but it certainly doesn’t look the part, and it doesn’t…

ZDNET Recently, Google has been developing new artificial intelligence-powered tools that transform writing and text materials and YouTube videos into audio or podcasts to assist researchers in their learning processes. The company is now experimenting with a new AI-powered tool called Illuminate, which enables users to convert lengthy, dense research papers and books into concise AI-generated audio conversations. Google describes the tool as an “experimental technology that uses AI to adapt content to your learning preferences.” Also: This Google AI tool could…